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Agence France-Presse

US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “crazy” on Sunday after Moscow launched a deadly barrage of drones against Ukraine, even as the warring countries completed a large-scale prisoner exchange.
At least 13 people were killed when Russia launched a record number of drones against Ukraine overnight to Sunday.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!” he added.
The Kremlin played down Trump’s criticism on Monday, saying Putin was taking measures “necessary to ensure Russia’s security”.
“This is a very critical moment, which is fraught with emotional stress for everyone, as well as emotional reactions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Trump’s comments marked a rare rebuke to Putin, who he often speaks of with admiration. The US leader has, however, expressed increasing frustration with Moscow’s position in deadlocked truce negotiations with Kyiv.
Earlier Sunday, Trump told reporters he was “not happy” about the latest attack on Ukraine and that he was “absolutely” considering increasing sanctions on Moscow.
“I’ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine’s emergency services described Sunday an atmosphere of “terror” in the country after a second straight night of massive Russian air strikes, including on the capital Kyiv.
Those killed in the latest Russian strikes included victims aged eight, 12 and 17 in the northwestern region of Zhytomyr, officials said.
“Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.

“The silence of America, the silence of others around the world only encourages Putin,” he said, adding: “Sanctions will certainly help”.
In his social media post, Trump also criticised Zelensky, a frequent target of his ire, accusing him of “doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does”.
“Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop,” he said.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, also called for “the strongest international pressure on Russia to stop this war”.
“Last night’s attacks again show Russia bent on more suffering and the annihilation of Ukraine,” she said on social media.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also denounced the attacks.

“Putin does not want peace, he wants to carry on the war and we shouldn’t allow him to do this,” he said. “For this reason we will approve further sanctions at a European level.”
Russia fired “355 Shahed-type drones” including decoys at Ukraine between Sunday night and early Monday, as well as nine cruise missiles, Ukraine’s air force said.
Air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat told AFP it was the largest drone attack since Moscow’s invasion began.
Four people were reported killed in Ukraine’s western Khmelnytskyi region, and four in the Kyiv region.
Two people were killed in the southern Mykolaiv region.
Russia said its strikes were aimed at Ukraine’s “military-industrial complex” and that it had brought down 110 Ukrainian drones.

The previous night, Russia had launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 drones, wounding 15 people, according to Ukrainian officials.
Flights at Moscow airports suffered temporary closures due to Ukrainian drone activity on Sunday but no injuries were reported, officials said.
Ukrainian officials also reported Russian strikes overnight to Monday, but not on the same scale.
Two people were injured and a house was destroyed in the Zaporizhzhia region when “the enemy struck the village of Yurkivka”, Ivan Fedorov, the governor of the region, said in a Telegram post.
The massive strikes on Ukraine came as Russia said it had exchanged another 303 Ukrainian prisoners of war for the same number of Russian soldiers held by Kyiv – the last phase of a swap agreed during talks in Istanbul on May 16.
That marked their biggest prisoner swap since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with 1,000 captured soldiers and civilian prisoners in total sent back by each side.

Zelensky confirmed the swap was complete.
Some of the formerly captive Ukrainian soldiers arrived at a hospital in the northern Chernigiv region, emaciated but smiling and waving to crowds.
One former captive, 58-year-old Viktor Syvak, said he was overcome by the emotional homecoming.
Captured in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, he had been held for 37 months and 12 days.
“It’s impossible to describe. I can’t put it into words,” he said of the release.


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Ukraine war

Trump says Putin’s ‘gone absolutely crazy’ after massive Russian drone attack on Ukraine

President Donald Trump made it clear he was losing patience with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. File photos: AFP

An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

US President Donald Trump on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. File photos: AFP

A residential building in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv that was struck by a drone. Photo: EPA-EFE

A local resident looks at a fragment of a Russian drone after an attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Saturday. Photo: AP

Ukrainian prisoners of war after their release on Saturday. Photo: AP

Europe may buy more US arms for Ukraine as Trump grows impatient over peace talks

A serviceman attends training at a shooting range in Ukraine’s Kharkiv on May 24. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ukraine war: EU and UK hit Russia with new sanctions without waiting for Trump

An oil tanker is moored at the Sheskharis complex in Novorossiysk, Russia, in October 2022. The latest sanctions are aimed mainly at cracking down on a shipping fleet that Russia uses to export oil. Photo: AP

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a press conference in Kyiv on May 13. Photo: AFP

After Putin call, Trump says Russia and Ukraine to negotiate ceasefire ‘immediately’

US President Donald Trump (left) held a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss hopes for ceasefire progress in the Ukraine war. Photo: AFP

Firefighters at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, outside of Kyiv, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Destroyed Russian tanks and other vehicles displayed in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting at the Vatican in April. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: RIA Novosti via Reuters

Latest Oval Office ambush by Trump could make world leaders think twice

US President Donald Trump during his meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Photo: Reuters

For world leaders an invitation to the Oval Office used to be a coveted prize. Under Donald Trump it has become a ticket to a brutal political ambush. Photo: Reuters

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during his meeting with US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office earlier this month. Photo: Reuters

With his ‘historic’ tour, Trump puts US power back in the Middle East

President Donald Trump visits US troops at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, on May 15. Photo: Reuters

The cover of an Iranian newspaper featuring US President Donald Trump and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, is seen in Tehran, Iran, on May 11. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters

US President Donald Trump signs a guest book next to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Qasr Al Watan, in Abu Dhabi on May 15. Photo: Reuters

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US President Donald Trump sharply criticised escalating Russian attacks on Ukraine, threatening further sanctions


US President Donald Trump sharply criticised escalating Russian attacks on Ukraine, threatening further sanctions.
